Arlington High wraps up successful wrestling season at state

Mid-South public high school wrestlers completed one of their most successful seasons in many years last weekend at the TSSAA Individual Wrestling State Championships. It began the weekend before, on Feb. 10, as area wrestlers competed in the Region 8 Individual Wrestling Tournament at Bartlett High School. The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to the State Championship Tournament.

Those 10 Arlington wrestlers, along with wrestlers from Bartlett, Bolton, Cordova, Collierville, Germantown, Houston, Kingsbury, Munford and Southwind, traveled to the Williamson County Agricultural Expo Center in Franklin for the State Championship Tournament for Feb. 15-17. The top six finishers in each weight class medaled.

After battling it out on the mats and literally much blood, sweat and tears, seven Arlington Region 8 wrestlers earned medals, the most from this region in many years.

The AAA Division One state medalists were Gabe O’Callaghan of Bartlett (second place at 113 lbs.), Reed Cannon of Arlington (second place at 120 lbs.), Dalton Cockman of Arlington (fourth place at 152 lbs.), Ndayambaje John of Kingsbury (fifth place at 152 lbs.), Dontae Johnson of Kingsbury (fourth place at 160 lbs.), Austin Antcliffe of Arlington (sixth place at 170 lbs., after an injury in the semi-final match, which prevented him for wrestling for a higher position) and Cameron Oliver of Bartlett (third place at 285).

Region 8 wrestling medalists who advanced to the Tennessee State Championship Tournament included:

Arlington wrestler Austin Antcliffe at the Tennessee State Championship Tournament, who, after suffering an ankle injury, still placed sixth in Tennessee at 170 lbs.